In Re Dakota Semmler v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: April 4, 2024
• Docket: 14-23-00890-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

Motions Dismissed; Petition for Writ of Mandamus Denied and Memorandum Opinion filed April 4, 2024.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

NO. 14-23-00890-CR

IN RE DAKOTA SEMMLER, Relator

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING WRIT OF MANDAMUS 155th District Court Austin County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2019R-0162

MEMORANDUM OPINION

On November 27, 2023, relator Dakota Semmler filed a petition for writ of mandamus in this court. See Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 22.221; see also Tex. R. App. P. 52. In the petition, relator asks this court to compel the Honorable Jeff R. Steinhauser, presiding judge of the 155th District Court of Austin County, to vacate the trial court’s September 5, 2023 “order for withdrawal of defense counsel” and the trial court’s October 25, 2023 “order on defense motion to reconsider.”

The mandamus record reflects that on November 7, 2023, relator signed a “waiver of attorney-client conflict.” The waiver was not before the trial court when the trial court signed the complained-of orders. “We do not consider arguments in a petition for writ of mandamus which were not presented to the trial court.” In re Chu, 134 S.W.3d 459, 463 (Tex. App.—Waco 2005, orig. proceeding) (citing In re American Optical Corp., 988 S.W.2d 711, 714 (Tex. 1998) (orig. proceeding)).

Relator has not established that he is entitled to mandamus relief. Accordingly, we deny relator’s petition for writ of mandamus without prejudice to refiling the same. Additionally, we dismiss all pending motions as moot.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Bourliot, Zimmerer, and Spain. Do Not Publish — Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).